


Can you hear me?

by HikariYumi



Series: Touching the sky [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Human, Comfort, Connor Deserves Happiness, Connor gets a hug, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hank Being Awesome, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Connor, Kid Fic, No Androids, Orphan connor, Poor Connor, mention of death and murder, vaguely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 18:36:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14920737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HikariYumi/pseuds/HikariYumi
Summary: Hank Anderson decides to adopt a little boy named Connor. It takes a bit for them to start to understand each other.





	Can you hear me?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello,
> 
> This is my first real fanfiction for a video game :0  
> I never planned that.. but I grew addicted to watching a let’s play of this goddamn game. I loved it.. and I wished I would have a play station to play it myself.
> 
> Also Connor. I love him. It’s horrible. I’m a little bit obsessed... I thought writing this maybe helps to get this out of my system.
> 
> So here we go.
> 
> This thing is not beta read.
> 
> ~Hikari

“I want to introduce you to our Connor, Lieutenant Anderson. He’s been with us for quite some time now and I’m sure he’s looking forward to getting to know you.”

Hank still wasn’t sure if this was a good idea when a small, Brown haired boy with equally dark eyes was more or less presented to him. Connor was a lean eleven year old, dressed in a immaculate dress shirt and tie. Frankly it looked a bit ridiculous.

“Hello Lieutenant Anderson” the boy greeted, voice sounding as neutral as every other part of his appearance. Everything about Connor seemed to be pleasant but bland. “Thank you for meeting me today.”

Wherever the orphanage had found this kid, it must have been a place where responsible was required.  
“Yeah, sure. Hi Connor.”

The woman in charge gestured the boy to sit next to Hank who complied with a polite smile.  
Hank frowned, Connor had something that was unsettling, an odd aura that seemed to detach him from the others around him.

When his son had died after an accident he had vowed to never have another child again. But now, years later, Hank had managed to let go of the gnawing pain that had feasted on him whenever he thought about his child. He still mourned, some days more than others, but he’d been finally able to move on.

A few weeks ago then, it’s been on a true fully gruesome crime scene, there’d been a little girl. If Hank remembered correctly her name had been Alice and she’d been in the house while her father had been shot by an unknown person. Alice hadn’t said a single word until the families maid had been allowed to her.  
One of his colleagues had told Hank later that Miss Kara, said maid, had filed for guardianship, and later adoption for the little girl.

Since then the thought of giving a child a new family had worked itself into Hanks thoughts more often than not. He’d loved his son, liked children in general a lot, something most people were surprised about thanks to his more rough behaviour, so it wasn’t too much of an absurd thought.  
Hank wasn’t keen on dating anyone, much less marrying and starting a family with them. But adopting someone who was as alone as he was? That seemed to be a different matter entirely.

That’s why he sat in the office of the local orphanage this day, introducing himself to this weird kid and wondering if the two of them would fit together.

“Thank you for this opportunity, Lieutenant, I hope it was as much a pleasure for you as it was for me.”  
Connor was guided out of the room, most likely to wait on one of the chairs in the hallway while the adults talked.

“He’s a weird kid.” Hank said finally when they both assumed their seats again.  
The woman looked a bit abashed as she played with the fancy looking pen on her desk.  
“Yes, Conner is a bit ... special. But as you’ve seen very smart and eager.”

“Do you know how he ended up here?”  
Hank was sure he could find out the specifics himself, but why going through the hassle of he didn’t have to?  
The woman appeared to be thinking for second or two before she started to explain.

“His father, Elijah Kamski if I’m not mistaken, had already left his mother Amanda before he was born and no one has ever heard from him again. That’s why he was raised by his mother alone, fairly sheltered I think if his social abilities are anything to go by, until she died last November.”

Hank nodded, it wasn’t much but he could surely work with that information.  
“I see. Anything else I should know about him?”  
The woman hummed thoughtfully before she said: “no, but Lieutenant, be careful with him. One day or another I’m sure his calmness will get a crack. His mothers death must have traumatised him in one way or another, be prepared.”

~

“Connor, are you ready to go?”  
Relieved to finally have gone over all the paperwork necessary to take the boy home for a weekend, Hank stretched his stiff shoulders. It’s been a long day already.  
Connor stood and pointed to a little nondescript bag next to his chair and gave him one of those little plastic smiles.  
“Great, then let’s get out of here, we have to get some groceries for the next days, I wasn’t sure what you would like.”

The following “I don’t have any preferences, I’m happy to just follow your taste” was showing exactly how it would be to live with Connor on a daily basis.  
Over the course of the weekend, and afterwards the month long trial, the boy never once gave any indication of what he personally liked.  
It drove Hank insane.

~

It needed a bit of time for Hank to get used to having a kid around again. Even though Connor rarely ever behaved like a kid his age anyway.  
After living together for a few weeks now, Hank was certain of a few things:  
First, the boy was incredibly clever but also incredibly dense in other areas.  
Secondly, he was too curious for his own good and had a weird confidence about that.  
And lastly, Connor was definitely damaged.

School went well for the kid, good grades all around, even though teachers and students alike were irritated by him. Apparently Connor didn’t even do more than defend himself when some other kids had tried to bully him and never once fought back.  
Hank wasn’t sure if he should be glad or worried about that.

It wasn’t that he was surprised that lots of people didn’t really got along with the boy, because while he tried to fit in, Connor always managed to stick out like a sore thump. In a few years though, Hank was sure, girls would start to take an interest in him, not caring how socially awkward he was. Because Connor could be really adorable sometimes, even though he usually only showed this side while playing with Hanks dog Sumo.

The two had fallen into something like brothership the moment they’ve met for the first time. The giant St. Bernhard and the tiny kid could have been starring for one of those obnoxious children’s cartoons the way they acted with each other.  
Connor never passed up an opportunity to accompany Hank when he was walking the dog, would’ve loved to do it on his own as well. But Hank had established early on that, as much as Sumo likes Connor, in case of emergency the boy wouldn’t stand a chance to hold the dog back.

Connor had showed understanding, just like he always did, but looked disappointed nevertheless. It was the first time Hank had seen him pulling a different face than his odd smile.

~

The thing about Connor was that he never complained. Not about other students, school, being forbidden to do things or even the weather.  
He just went on smiling and nodding all day.  
That or asking ‘personal questions’.

By now the boy knew way more about Hank than vice versa, and that made the Lieutenant a bit uneasy. He told the boy a bit about his job, his decision for adoption and even the loss of his son and resulting alcoholism. Connor had replied to that with a congratulation on Hanks sobriety.

“Kid, I think we have to talk.”  
Apparently that was the way to make the boy look scared. Still, Hank was quick to calm Connor, sat him down at the table and explained that he wanted to get to know him better.

“What do you want to know, Hank?”  
Oh how long had it taken the man to make Connor stop calling him ‘Lieutenant’?  
“Well, you rarely ever talk about yourself. Not what you like or dislike and especially not about your family.”  
The boy stared at him for a long moment. Hank sighed.  
“Connor, do you like it here? Do you want to keep living here with me?”

The kid frowned, maturity flowing away, revealing an uncertain eleven year old in its wake. Surprisingly the sight rugged at Hanks heart, this was the Connor he hadn’t been able to meet before.

“I-“ Brown eyes stared up at Hank in uncharacteristic helplessness.  
“I-, it’s a nice place and it’s not far from school so...”

Hank shook his head, breathing out.  
“No Connor, that’s not an answer to my question. Our trial time is nearly over and if you want to, we could tell the social worker that I would want to completely adopt you, you know. That said, you have a say in this matter as well.”

“I... have?”  
The boy blinked, honestly surprised by this prospect. The implication of that alone made Hank very angry.  
“Yes Connor, you have. It’s your life after all.”

The man could’ve sworn that he earned a sharp intake of breath for that. Not for the first time Hank wondered what had happened in the kids past.

There was silence for a few minutes, Connor focused his gaze onto the tabletop in deep concentration. For once Hank decided to be patient.

“I think I’d like to stay here, because I like you and Sumo. It feels right to be here.”

They hugged for the first time after that and Hank was a bit relieved when he felt Connor cry silently into his shirt.

Later that night he asked the boy, his boy, if he missed his mother a lot still. The answer he received for that was one he wouldn’t fully understand for a few years.

“I needed Amanda and didn’t want her to go. But I never liked her. I like you.”


End file.
